Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Part 3 of 4)

Alternate take for Stolen Car first appeared on a bootleg LP in the
mid-1980s (although the bootleggers used to call it Son You May Kiss
 The Bride) and then was officially released on TRACKS in 1998. The
famous John Hammond audition tapes recorded in 1972 have also been
circulated on various bootlegs (for example, see here) and the
advanced promo 3-track CD-R (Gateway Mastering Studios, CD PRO)
for the 4-CD compilation box is the first official release featuring
the acoustic demo of Growin' Up.

During the past 43-year career of recording and touring, Springsteen has not only released an incredible number of his compositions, but also re-released many original songs in the form of acoustic demo, alternate mix, different arrangement or live rendition, on several compilation LP, EP or live albums. As far as studio recording goes on album format, if my memory is correct, it got all started in 1998 with the release of TRACKS 4-CD box (US Columbia CXK 69475) on which he purposely included for the first time alternate versions to some songs that are already made on the previously released original albums or the flip side of some 7" singles, such as Growin' Up, Stolen Car and Stand On It just to mention a few. In this respect, the long version of My Father's House, that is commercially available only on the CD version of NEBRASKA pressed in Japan between 1985 and 1995, is a unique exception among his alternate tracks because it was released accidentally or inadvertently, as shortly introduced in Part 1 of this series.

Found on the dead wax of the NEBRASKA LP pressed in the US and
other countries like Holland is the initials "D.K." for Dennis King
who cut the final metal master at the Atlantic Records studios.

Back in 1982 before the CD release, this alternate track was cut on the acetate and made on the vinyl test pressing during the post-recording/manufacturing processes of NEBRASKA LP. These pre-release discs have been circulated in collectors' markets (see Part 2), which are the proof that this track had almost been made on the final LP. So, like other serious collectors, I was also seeking the possibility if the regular vinyl copies were out there that contained the alternate My Father's House. By far, no such vinyl pressings are known to exist on the world in any commercially released form, at least to the best of my knowledge. Interestingly, however, some of the regular LP from several countries represent another probable proof that the alternate take almost ended up on the album. Such LP copies mistakenly indicate the length of My Father's House as 5' 43" instead of 5' 03" on the Side 2 record label. This small, but implicative printing error may be known for years among vinyl collectors or NEBRASKA freaks, as the album was available more than three decades ago. But to my shame, I hadn't been aware of this until very recently.

The misprinted Side 2 label of the regular U.K. pressing lists the incorrect track time for My Father's House as 5' 43" (left). Although the vinyl test pressing does not indicate the track length anywhere on the record label or on the sleeve (right), comparison of the matrix numbers with the regular copy clearly shows that it does not feature the alternate take.

On this late March, I received a PM from a fellow collector in the U.K. and we had some nice talk and exchanged collector-wise info on NEBRASKA LP. During the communication with him, he sent me scanned images for the record labels including those of the U.K. pressing, which led to my utterly belated finding on the misprint (see the picture above; thanks D.R. for bringing this to my attention!). Many years ago, I obtained a test pressing copy for the U.K. album, back then hoping much for the inclusion of the alternate take of My Father's House. However, this test pressing was found to contain the common regular take, and in fact, it shared the same hand-etched matrix numbers ("CBS 25100-B3" on Side 2) with the regular copy I own. So, all the test pressings do not necessarily contain the alternate version of the track, and I guess the US test pressing is probably the only available source for the long version on the vinyl format.

Needless to say, this prompted me to check five regular US copies for this LP I own (three copies for the earlier catalog number TC 38358 and two copies for later QC 38358, though both prefix codes refer to the list price of $8.98), and I found that one of the TC 38358 copies indeed had the same printing error the U.K. copy has made (see the image below). In addition, even though the differences are tiny, the track lengths for Used Cars and Reason To Believe do not match those on the Side 2 label of the other four copies.

One US copy with the catalog number prefix "TC" carries the Side 2 misprint (upper left) while the other two "TC" copies in my possession do not (upper right; only one is shown). The former, with a gold promo stamp on the rear sleeve (seen on top of the lower left image), is likely to be pressed at Pitman Pressing Plant in NJ, because back then the matrix code suffixes A/B was assigned to this pressing factory. On the other hand, the matrix inscription "G!" indicates the latter from the Columbia Pressing Plant in Carrollton, GA. This copy also comes in the promo sleeve but the ”TC" prefix on the spine is overlaid with a "QC" semi-transparent sticker (middle in the lower left image). The label of a "QC" copy lists the track time correctly (lower right).

This particular copy is considered to be an early pressing based on the earlier catalog number prefix "TC", a gold promo stamp on the rear sleeve (though the labels are red; probably no white label promo exists for the US pressing, see here on this blog), and the matrix numbers (with the suffixes 1A and 2B on Sides 1 and 2, respectively). The printing error on the US LP label seems to be specific to pressing plant because, according to matrix numbers, the misprint version (TC 38358) came from Pitman, NJ, whereas the remaining four (both TC and QC 38358) from Carrollton, GA. However, this is not conclusive and more copies need to be examined.

By the way, It is said that no US copies have been circulating with the matrix suffix 1B (I don't remember the source; maybe from one of the NEBRASKA-related threads from STEVE HOFFMAN MUSIC FORUM ?), and I guess 1D, 1F and 1H as well that are all probably to be assigned to Side 2. Provided that this is true, I enjoy thinking on the possibility that the master disc with the matrix suffix 1B (or any of the other equivalents) originally featured the alternate take of My Father's House but was ultimately rejected as the final master and abandoned. Such a scenario could explain why neither promo nor regular pressing with this earliest suffix code ever surfaces.
— To be continued.

Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Part 2 of 4)

Backstreets Records Ad for set sale circa 1993, featuring
NEBRASKA acetate and test pressing discs, both with the
alternate version of My Father's House.

In Japan, the CD copies of NEBRASKA are pressed using differently mixed, two master tapes (i.e. impermissible narrow stereo mix used for the early copies and approved mono for the late ones). In addition to the mixing format, there are some more obvious differences between the two masters such as pitch, track length and sound volume. However, the most notable is that the early stereo-mixed copies, that was pressed from 1985 till 1995 in the Far East, contain a longer version of My Father's House with an extended and quiet keyboard coda. The last blog briefly introduces such CD issues for domestic and export markets and ends with the following question: Is there the possibility that the alternate take of My Father's House is featured on vinyl LP copies?

Before the commercial release of vinyl records, acetates and vinyl test pressing are created at the first and late steps in the vinyl manufacturing process, respectively. These rare and high-valued non-commercial discs have been circulated mostly for the US and UK releases of NEBRASKA LP. Shown images on the right are taken from the 1993 Holiday Catalog of Backstreets Records that advertises a copy each for the one-side (Side 2 only) acetate disc and the test pressing vinyl from the US, both described as featuring an alternate take of My Father's House.

An example of Side 2 label of the acetate disc.
What are hand-written differ slightly from those
described in the Backstreets Records catalog as
above (neither in my possession nor the one
 recently auctioned on eBay as mentioned in the
main text; this image was downloaded
somewhere on the net around in 2002)

I don't exactly know whether the featured takes on the acetate and test pressing vinyl are identical to the one that appears on a series of Japan-pressed CD (although I think perhaps so), as I have never owned these extremely collectable discs. They are also infrequently sold at internet auction. Most recently, I saw the pair of one-sided acetates put on eBay late last year (December 2015) where the seller was asking US $2,500 for the set available through "Buy It Now" option. The existence of the test pressing vinyl which is, unlike the acetates, pressed usually right before having a record mass-produced, indicates that the alternate track had almost been made on the LP album. This is consistent with the often told tale that Springsteen ultimately rejected the alternate master mixed in stereo (see Brucebase, for example). Then, how about the regular vinyl pressing?
— To be continued.

Thoughts on My Father's House on NEBRASKA LP (Part 1 of 4)

Three European gate-fold releases of NEBRASKA LP (Left, Spanish; Center, Ex-Yugoslavian; Right, Dutch). In addition to the lyric-printed inner protective sleeve, the Spanish (white label promo) copy comes with additional paper sheets (far left), as shown previously here. Note that the gate-fold LP is also released in Portugal.
 

Interior side of the gate-fold releases. From top to bottom:
Spanish, Ex-Yugoslavian and Holland copies. The Spanish
inner sleeve reproduces Bruce's picture that is found on
the gate-fold sleeve whereas the Dutch one is the text-only
version with German and French lyrics on its both sides.

NEBRASKA is, to me, one of the memorable and deep-listening album as it is my first ever Springsteen's new album (As told before, I became a fan early in THE RIVER era). Like many, I was one of those who had been wondering, since its release in 1982, how these raw acoustic demos turned to be the commercially released album. It was Dave Marsh's Springsteen biography (GLORY DAYS; Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1987) that has provided the definitive answer to this commonly asked question. I remember I read this most important part of that book with great interest and attention, as it unveiled for the first time that the album was never originally intended for a solo project but recorded with the E Street Band. Such studio recordings from "electric NEBRASKA session" still remain unreleased, though.

Collecting-wise, this album has at least two points that appeal to collectors. Like THE RIVER, one is the gate-fold version of the LP album released in certain limited countries in Europa like Holland, Spain, Portugal and Ex-Yugoslavia (although none of these countries releases the gate-fold THE RIVER LP). At least for Dutch and Spanish issues, the original lyrics are translated into German/French and Spanish, respectively, and those translations are printed on respective inner protective sleeves (I don't own Portuguese copies). In these releases, the English lyrics are listed inside of the gate-fold sleeve which is almost indistinguishable among the copies pressed in different countries, except for small credits printed on the left-hand picture. These gate-fold issues are relatively easily available as the second and further rounds of repressed copies (with red CBS labels) had continued to be released in the same sleeve format. Still, it's always nice to have a spectacular fold-out sleeve for any LP title.

Japan-pressed original CD copies released in Japan (left), the US (middle) and Europa (right). All contain a longer version of My Father's House. The US and European discs are indicated as “MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN” and “MANUFACTURED BY CBS/SONY INC. IN JAPAN”, respectively, on each perimeter. The US CD has “MANUFACTURED BY CBS/SONY RECORDS INC.” stamped on the clear plastic ring around the center hole, and the matrix code of this copy is DIDP 20040 11A1 which appears along the inner rim of the disc (which is invisible in this image). The European disc (this one is a UK issue) prints the US catalog number CK 38358 in a parenthesis underneath its own catalog number CBS 25100 (the matrix code of the shown copy is DIDP 10040 11A7).
 

CD booklets and insert listing track name and length. Left upper, booklet for the
original Japanese issue (CBS/SONY 32DP 357); Left lower, booklet for the UK issue
(CBS 25100); Right, Part of the folded insert included in the second pressing for
the Japanese CD (CBS/SONY 25DP 5246). Note the differences in track length
between Japanese and European booklets, even though content-wise the CD
are identical between the two issues.

Another point that draws (certainly more) collectors' attention is the existence of an officially, but inadvertently, released stereo mix of the album that includes a longer version of My Father's House with an extended instrumental coda. Instead of the original mono recordings, this alternate mix is used exclusively to manufacture the CD album in Japan for the first three domestic releases with different catalog numbers (32DP 357, 25DP 5246 and SRCS 7860 released in 1985, 1988 and 1995, respectively), and for the export versions to the US and European markets in 1985, although the US disc has been recalled and the corrected CD was issued with the same catalog number (CK 38358). The Japanese CD booklet and folded insert list the track length for this alternate take correctly as 5' 35" while the European booklet prints the shorter, original track length of 5' 03". On the other hand, the US version does not display a playing time for any track anywhere on the folded sleeve or the disc.

Part of an auction list of Backstreets Records issued around in 1989, shortly describing the recalled US NEBRASKA CD. Note that according to this list, perfect copies of the original US release must come in a long box!

The story of how this happened is told elsewhere (for instance, concisely and essentially on the Brucebase website). In short, when the album was going to be released in 1985 for the first time on CD format, CBS/Sony Japan has inadvertently received the stereo master tapes from the US Columbia which were indeed declined by Springsteen in 1982 for the LP release and put aside since then. It is unbelievable that this supposedly impermissible thing had been left there for more than 10 years, until the release of the 1999 paper sleeve edition (SONY SRCS 9471) which uses the correct mono master tapes; This is not a tiny mistake such as typo or misprint of some sort on a sleeve, booklet or disc, but a tremendous production error concerning the core of artist's work (music itself). It is also curious that the Springsteen camp seemingly had done nothing to rectify it for long, despite the reputation as a strict control freak (with Jon Landau at the head of it). The management must have recognized the error because the US version of the CD was recalled. So, maybe Japan is something extraterritorial to Springsteen or his management team?  No, probably not at all. For example, back in 1980, the first issue of the single release of Hungry Heart 7" (CBS/SONY 07SP 511), originally coming with a unique alternate color picture insert, was withdrawn at the request from the US side. He or his camp also suspended the commercial CD release of the second wave Japanese miniature LP paper sleeve reissues [i.e. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (SONY SRCS 8984) through THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (SONY SRCS 9474)], right before the scheduled date in September 1999. As a result,

Impossibly rare regular copies of the unreleased/withdrawn 1999 mini-sleeve CD
reissues are distinguished from their advanced promotional copies which are also
extremely rare. Shown are LUCKY TOWN (SONY SRCS 9473) whose promo copy
(right) has a "SAMPLE (in Japanese) - NOT FOR SALE" sticker directly glued on the
rear sleeve and an orange "SAMPLE" stamp on the inner plastic ring of the disc;
neither is found on the regular copy (left).

the promotional CD copies for these seven reissues have become rare collectibles as they were pre-released and circulated already in advance of the commercial release. However, even much rarer are the regular commercial copies which are really hard to find even here in Japan (yes, they do circulate). Anyway, if what is believed to have happened behind the early Japan-pressed CD is indeed true, is there the possibility that the alternate take of My Father's House is featured on a vinyl LP?
— To be continued.